Elites vs. Grassroots at CPAC

There is perhaps no more disturbing theme to come out of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) than the undercurrent of elitist commentary leaking out on some blogs and on Tweeter. The reactions of the establishment and the establishment wannabes to such people as Sarah Palin, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, and other personalities within the party who appeal to the base have been remarkable. The criticism of Sarah and Joe was fairly mild by most political standards. But the message was clear: such people are in ill favor with the establishment.

One such respondent placed his objections within the framework of the Republican Party being the middle-class party and therefore not needing “gimmicks” to prove their middle-class bona fides. The problem, of course, is that once those middle-class symbols are removed, or limited in their impact and exposure, the Republican Party leadership tends to forget the values of the middle class that they claim to represent. The results are predictable:

In election seasons, such omissions lead to the near suicidal nomination of people like John McCain for president. McCain tried to sell us on the idea that he was a “maverick” when it came to bucking the party establishment. All too often, however, he was a very public rebel against true conservative values. Back in the day, the description we used for such people was “Rockefeller Republicans.” These days, the most apt description is RINO (“Republican in Name Only”). The nomination of McCain resulted in the spectacle of Palin and Wurzelbacher gathering more people at their appearances than John McCain drew to his.

Under these conditions, when Republicans are in power they tend to spend more time in “go along to get along” mode than they do governing on conservative principles, essentially guaranteeing a loss at the next electoral opportunity.

In both situations, forgetting the grassroots is destructive and — as with the most recent election cycle — downright suicidal. It amazes me that this lesson has yet to be learned.

There is another factor, which I mentioned in a previous PJ Media article:

Those Americans traditionally supporting Republican candidates tend not to let their entire beings get wrapped up in letting one politician or another be the answer to all their problems — or the cause of them.

By that same token, Republicans tend not to need an elite leadership to do their thinking for them. Rush Limbaugh (who spoke so eloquently of conservative values at CPAC) and the hosts of conservative talk shows across this country are extremely popular because they manage to articulate what ordinary voters are already thinking and, all too often, what the Republican Party leadership is ignoring. It comes as no shock then that Republican Party leaders find it harder, if not impossible, to maintain the “leader walks on water” meme that the Democrats promoted with Obama and Clinton.

94 Comments, 94 Threads

You mean they need to be a Northern amalgam of old Whigs, Free-Soilers, and abolitionists rallying behind newspaper-publisher Horace Greeley? Well, I guess that where the “go West” call comes in, as Palin’s Alaska is as far west as we can go.

If that’s the case, Greeley himself left the GOP to accept the Liberal Republican Party nomination, and Lincoln himself left for the National Union Party.

How do we know the roots of the GOP are conservative? How are we sure “the North-Eastern Elite” aren’t the true inheritors of the party? After all, the GOP itself wasn’t founded on any philosophical basis that I can determine. It appeared to be a compromised coalition pitted against Southern Democrats, and not for positive goals.

After all, the party seemed equally split in support for Taft and Roosevelt, and Ike barely edged out another conservative Taft. Maybe we’re the invaders.

The repubs are not RINOs, Rockefellar Republicans, go-along-to-get-along types, or merely elite. They are progressives. Bush I, Bush II, Nixon, back to Hoover and Teddy Roosevelt; they are all progressive. Let’s get some definitions straight here as well.

Progressives are people who are too dishonest to call themselves socialists. Socialists are people who are too lazy to be communists.

Dishonest and lazy sums up the repubs since they let Gingrinch get run out by the dems. There is no reason for any conservative to support these people, ever. A new party of conservative principles is required. This party can then keep out the dem-lite socialists who keep losing elections.

Amen. The GOP leadership is vested in Washington. John McCain, and now Mitt Romney are not representative of the conservative base I know and work with on a day to day basis.

Changes are coming. The money and punditry supporting the party is still centered in Washington and on the coasts. The Palin and Joe the Plumber moments have not passed.

Rush identified the key issue today in his rant against Steele. Will the GOP elite restructure the primary system? Why conform to the expectations of your political opponents?

As long as the GOP primary system mimics the Dems and meets the requirements of the punditry elite, the current divide between the elites and the grassroots will lead to defeat. When the GOP breaks out of the current system and constructs a primary process that addresses the real nature of the party, conservatives will unite. Today, the elite still set much of the agenda. But change is coming.

I am looking at some of the other posts today on PJM and I am amazed at the “negative garbage” spewing out — this article was the first one I agreed with regarding CPAC coverage.

…all of the pundits are busy working to explain to us “what’s wrong with America” on our side of the fence.

Personally, I agree with Rush. This is America and we are all in this together. The real ememy is socialism and the Democrats, not the average person or speaker that showed up at CPAC.

So what is wrong with people from middle American being actively involved in our conservative revolution? ie: Joe, Sarah and Bobby. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

It appears we are more busy pointing fingers at each other than trying to come together. Little secret: that is how the Democrats work to create chaos among us. We are better than that! Are we smart enough to quit taking the bait.

It is easy to beat the Democrats at their own game — just come together as conservatives — it is a scenero that they are deathly afraid of.

If we conservatives cannot wrest control from the Republican elites by the next mid term, we will never get it done. I still believe it would be easier to integrate into the Libertarian party than to continue fighting the Republicans. It is entirely possible that the northest elites OWN the Republican leadership, and will not give it up.

If we cannot reform the open primary system, the Democrats will continue to hijaak our candidates. That crucial reform MUST be done as the first step to retaking control. If it cannot be done, a different path must be considered.

Let me preface this by saying I’m probably the newest of evolving conservatives. As an Irish Catholic from Mass, I was reliable in my support of Democrats; but life happened, with jobs, mortgage, college, et al. I had to work at what I got, then watched as people told me that it was patriotic to share with those who often ‘didn’t push as hard’ or worse, expected as victims they were ‘owed’ something. So after 36 years of serving in the military, my patriotism was questioned by people who when I enlisted snubbed me as a baby killer….hmmmm.

I dislike Rush and his ilk. But he is correct in that we are in this together. We can oppose the prez but our alternative (which I know was proferred by many in the Party) was not publicized – don’t blame the MSM, it wasn’t even highlighted in many of the blogs that our folks frequent. So first, we must quit whining about the MSM and use all methods at hand to send our message – we are not obstructionists, we are the alternative. Where is our strong, viable and useful alternative to the trash being forced down our throats?

Our current leadership is truly stale and, worse, patently artificial in appearance and action. They DID abrogate our principals and have NO ethical authority to oppose current actions by the Dems. Compound this with the disgraceful inclusion and acceptance of 4000+ earmarks in the recent omnibus (which they could have removed) we have lost any semblance of moral high ground.

People are rallying to Palin, Joe, et al not necessarily because of their conservative bona fides, but because they are real and have moxie -we can all disagree, but our foundations are asimilar. These folks, for the first time in a long time, show Republicans with truly middle-class faces that, at least ‘appear’ uncorrupted; as opposed to the often smug, blatantly self-aggrandizing posturing of many of our current leaders and quasi-candidates; now re-finding their ‘roots.’

Many above are correct – we are our own worst enemies, breaking into ‘camps’ and measuring our manhood by how ‘right’ we are/were/should be. We need to sit and find common ground. As I see it, the CPAC was a mere pep rally – was anything truly debated? Not from what I’ve seen.

We have a great history and plan for the American people; to present it, we need to have fresh voices and faces from real America (sorry Rush, you aren’t among those) that speak with solidarity and conviction – that is now missing.

It was the Republican “elite leadership” who got us into this mess. When they had control of the Congress and the presidency, they proved just as big-spending, big government, and just as corrupt as the Democrats. It’s unlikely the “leadership” can get us out. So, do we dump the so-called leadership or do we dump the Republican Party?

By all means, give more visibility to the Republican grassroots. The more that Rush, Palin and Joe the Plumber are perceived as the mascots of Conservatism, the more likely that the educated, successful non-liberals who fund the GOP will aid the Dems in ridiculing and marginalizing them.

Crazy, illiterate, religious Conservatism doesn’t have the numbers to win national elections. It has already driven the GOP further left in the hopes of peeling off Independents and more moderate Dems, but eventually it will have to write Conservatives out of the equation altogether, in order to survive.

The end result is that 20% of Americans will be shut out of all but local elections, while the other 80% duke it out over modestly different versions of Socialism.

Political parties are not grassroots organizations. They are corporate entities that market a product to voter-consumers. Like any corporation the people making the rules and spending the money care about themselves first and consumers second.

The difference is, Coke and Pepsi compete with 100 other brands; they have to put out a product you like or you’ll go elsewhere. Democrat and Republican elites have rigged election law to effectively keep other brands out. Districts are gerrymandered. Election speech is censored. Except at the margin, election to congress is a lifetime ticket to the gravy train.

Your Republican representative and senator care about what conservatives think – one day, every two years. What the Republican elites care about is themselves. The way to do right by themselves is to use government to do favors for businesses who will turn around and do favors for them (campaign money, hire the wife an $300k, sell land at 1/10th market value). Come election time they’ll hire a consultant to work up a few conservative ads.

There were no elites at CPAC. Just REALLY average Americans . . . AVERAGELY real Americans.

“Nothing elite, nope, sorry, nothing extraordinary going on here, move along. You might try down the hall to the left, I hear Michelle Malkin is applying lip gloss. Right across from Laura Ingraham who’s willing to buff your crucifix for $4.99. One booth over you might recognize Neil Boortz, if not, just look for the rack of poodle condoms he’s selling trying to fund the “Work the Pole University” he offers in Atlanta.”

Typical Americans. God bless the lower rung. I love that we can convince them to pay for everything just by telling them “You’re a great American!” Amazing how sheepish they can be if we just give them enough Zanax and Fox News . . . a War on Christmas here, a celebrity death scandal there, throw in American Idol and you got em. They’re like ATM cards with eyes wide shut.

And like Liz Trotta, that ain’t pretty.

That reminds me, who is the de facto leader of the Republican party? I Googled it and there seems to be some confusion.

The only divide I see is between true conservatives and old guard Republicans. Those good old boys have given up on conservative values (and I don’t mean the far right fundamentalists) and have joined the socialist revolution taking over this country.

Why else did Bush and the Republican congress go along with all those social welfare programs. Wasn’t it the “every person is entitled to own a home” that got us into the housing crisis, that led to the banking situation? Hasn’t “No child left behind” been a total failure? How about “comprehensive immigration”?

The list goes on, all supported by the liberal right. Then they forced John McCain on us. Conservatives only voted for McCain (a Republican) because Palin (a conservative) was on the ticket.

It’s the grassroots who have it right. And the group running the GOP have no intention of allowing conservatives a piece of that action.

I agree with you and Rush Limbaugh, this is a great country and we need to fight to keep it that way. Socialism is not the way. Another thing, I don’t think Michael Steele is the right man for the job. He fits in with the elite leadership and they have ignored the conservative principles of the ordinary voters.

“Sadly, what I’ve been seeing the last couple of days in a lot of the anti-grassroots traffic coming out of CPAC is that we’re about to repeat the history of the pre-Reagan years. Then, Republicans lost sight of their principles and ended up aping the Democrats in promoting the worst aspects of the welfare state.”

About to repeat? What have you geniuses been doing the last 8 years, warming up? Also, it’s really hysterical that you frame the reason for Republican failure as “apeing” the Democrats in “promoting the worst aspects of the welfare state”, when it’s entirely clear to most folks that it’s not the size of the previous admin’s government that mattered, it was it’s total incompetence at every level and disregard for Americans. But please, keep toeing the small government line, like Hoover did, and see where it gets you.

No it was “how do we handle these useless loans the government mandates and still stay in buisness.” Was it wrong. Hell yes, it was also as good as mandated by the government.

It is also interesting how many jump in hear with a real, total, pathalogical hatred of religion. Guess what, the Bill of Rights PROTECTS freedom of religion, not suppresion of religion. Tough luck guys.

Conservative does not equal Republican. I no longer automatically support or vote for the Republican candidates. I look for Conservative cadidates. I vote for the most conservative one.

No political party can win anything if the peasants and serfs decide not to support them. Democrates own the victims, the lazy, the freeloaders. That only leaves the workers for Republicans. And the Republican elites keep kicking the workers, the doers in the teeth.

Versus #1 Typewriter: The Republican Party was founded as the anti-slavery party, at first only against allowing the new territories and states to be slave states, but quickly during the Civil War, being abolitionist. It was always for Civil Rights, and got the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution passed. It was the party of Frederick Douglass, and of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who not only sent federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, in order to enforce the 1954 Supreme Court decision declaring racial segregation in publi schools unconstitutional, but also appointed Ralph Bunche, a Negro, as Ambassador to the United Nations. It was southern Democrats who supported state-enforced racial discrimination. The Republican Party was the party of liberty for all, and it should continue to be so.

The first enemy is the media. The distortion and confusion that is spewed is nauseating and harmful.This distraction form reality is in large part the cause of even conservatives with collectivist spines.
The second enemy is ourselves.
The lack of fortitude and individualism even in conservatives is remarkable.
Why would anyone start with the idea that anything coming out of any politicians mouth is truthful? Why do we act like they are going to fix anything or lead us anywhere?
You are looking for a deus ex machina just like the socialists were and got with Obama. Except the deus ex machina only works in plays and operas.
How about holding all of these so called leaders accountable. They work for us and they aren’t showing up for work!

I’m not a Republican, or a conservative, but I must say that the Limbaugh strategy makes a bit more sense than the Steele strategy. The former involves winning back a few percent points of the white Obama swing-voters, by appealing to their grievances on taxes and non-white identity politics. The latter involves somehow trying to appeal to blacks and Hispanics – cohorts that respectively voted 97% and 66% for Obama, and that tend overwhelmingly to be lower income earners and beneficiaries of government spending and non-white identity politics. The former is hardball politics. The latter is a feel-good exercise in futility for the David Brooks’ and David Frums’ of the world.

I note the references to Limbaugh/Steele. I regard this as the same topic, so I’ll respond on that level.

First, let’s understand that the takeaway from this Steele v Limbaugh exchange, whatever else might be said, is that Limbaugh is not as the Democrats have been trying to cast him, a part of the Republican leadership. He is, in fact, part of the much Republican maligned grassroots, albeit one of the more visible members.

Secondly, let’s understand that Limbaugh is as popular as he is because he speaks what is already on the minds of the Republican grass roots, not because he does their thinking for him or that he is particularly entertaining.

So what’s up with all this trying to mislabel Limbaugh as the leadership of the GOP, and why does this and my write-up amount to the same topic?

Simple; When Democrats attack, they tend to attack the Republican grassroots, not the Republican establishment. That’s because all too often, the Republican establishment is knee-jerk willing to bow to the Democrats on grassroots issues as Steele himself got caught doing, and as McCain all too foten did during the election. They are attempting to get the GOP to disown the Republican grassroots, by making ‘social conservative’ a perjorative. This is part and parcel of the attacks on grassroots figures we saw coming all too often out of folks at CPAC. (at the least, the effect is the same) In both cases, the objection from Democrats and Establishment Republicans isn’t that the grassroots folks are not ‘serious’, that they’re not forceful, passionate speakers, it’s that they’re conservative, and are speaking up for conservative values. I tell you true; The Republicans managing to gather the the social conservatives in and claim them as GOP members is the worst fear the left has, I think. It’s why they fixate on it so much. It’s also why they invested so much in getting McCain… someone who would gain at best only marginal social conservative support… to the nomination.

So, here’s the message for McCain… for Eric Cantor, and for Michael Steele, and anyone else who is uncomfortable with the Republican grassroots: I want the policies of this administration to fail, because I want this country to succeed. Allowing Obama to succeed in his plans means America fails. Those two points are directly linked. If you cannot get your mind around that concept, and state it flatly and publicly, and adopt it as your position, and the position of the party, and the motive behind everything you do in your leadership role in the party, then I want you nowhere near the reins of the Republican Party.

TIME FOR A NEW PARTY maybe made up of stock owners, small business owners, workers, you know all the folks pushing the wagon not riding in the wagon. We could call it the tax payers party or maybe the income producing party.

The grassroots Republicans must take over the party if we are going to succeed. RINOs may be invited in only if they are willing to get with the program. No more crossing the aisle or having one foot in socialism and one foot in conservatism according to ones immediate convenience. Mushy Republicans are rotting the party.

#2 TOMJW: ‘A new party of conservative principles is required. This party can then keep out the dem-lite socialists who keep losing elections.’

Well said, Tom! If the RINO’s and Rockefeller Republicans will not hear us, then the only avenue open to us is to form a new party which WILL espouse our values. Unfortunately, human nature dictates that IT will not last long. Dare we hope for another 225 years of freedom?

Republicans are and always have been associated with the rich and big business. THEY will have to show the country, they believe in the average man before they can make progress in politics again.

But in answer to the post that Democrats are enemies, that’s the type of mental thought that has gotten the republicans in trouble. All the ranting and raving from Limbaugh without substance is what is causing a rebellion within the republican ranks. He is only interested in improving his markets and making money, same with Coulter. And truthfully republicans who really love this country are sick and tired of these type of people and their tirads.

We have to admit that the country started a downward spiral under bush, because he did not include the middle class and the poor in his agenda, all he cared about was the rich and big business, but that is no reason for republicans not to tell this country that they have the guts and means to bring us back.

Leftist democrats are indeed the enemies of freedom and liberty. They are led by Geroge Soros (The Shadow Party, Horowitz), an egomaniac who despises everything our country represents. He has the resources to fund his intentions and is using those to destroy us.

Grover Pillsbury:
#2 TOMJW: ‘A new party of conservative principles is required. This party can then keep out the dem-lite socialists who keep losing elections.’

Well said, Tom! If the RINO’s and Rockefeller Republicans will not hear us, then the only avenue open to us is to form a new party which WILL espouse our values. Unfortunately, human nature dictates that IT will not last long. Dare we hope for another 225 years of freedom?

Grover, also well said. We do dare to hope for another 225 years if we start now.

If we, as a nation, allow any entity to think for us or speak for us, and we all just agree in order to ‘get long’, then we are indeed a nation (a party) of sheep.

The future of our country needs to include folks like Sarah and Joe, like you and me. We may not be extremely articulate, but we speak from the heart. Folks need to listen with their heart, and do what is right for our country!

Elitism needs to go away and we need to get on the ball to remove the current threat to our country with our votes.

Third parties lose in the US. Ask Teddy Roosevelt, George Wallace etc. And they’ll split the vote and install a Democrat like Teddy did.

Take back the GOP from the corrupt servers of lobbyists, the anti-gays, and appeal to the majority of all americans who destest waste, weakness, and incompetence. Hispanics and new generation blacks can be the first wave of new converts if the GOP uses the opportunity wisely. Of course, that means the GOP has to walk the walk next time. No fat boy politicos cutting deals at the expense of taxpayers; no rich men’s kids, no raving evangelicals. No one saying “strom was right” and no one hitting on pages. Geez, we have better people working at our local DMV.

As the Republican Party has developed over the years historically, the spine in it, the real grit, has been its conservative base–the part of it that adheres to the U. S. Constitution! (Allow this digression, please: first both factions were one, the Democratic-Republican Party, whose split created Democrats and Republicans over the issue of states rights versus “unionism” or federalism in the early nineteenth century. The Democrats then evolved into national and international socialists and the Republicans evolved into what Democrats had orginally been, originalists in terms of the Constitution and states-rights.) A part of today’s Republican Party, what Florack calls the “Republican leadership, wants to direct the party toward socialism itself, but the core of the party, its “originalists” and “states righters,” reject that. Conservative principles today are the Founders Principles of yesterday. The so-called Republican leadership can’t win without championing them. Look at recent history! Only one so-called moderate Republican, a military hero named Eisenhower, was able to win as a “moderate.” Americans are not political moderates. They know what they believe. Obama and all the Democrat socialists must be defeated or soon the socialists will have changed it all.

#39 Don Rhudy: “A part of today’s Republican Party, what Florack calls the “Republican leadership, wants to direct the party toward socialism itself, but the core of the party, its “originalists” and “states righters,” reject that.

19. Steve P@Mar 3, 2009 – 7:58 amwhen it’s entirely clear to most folks that it’s not the size of the previous admin’s government that mattered, it was it’s total incompetence at every level and disregard for Americans.

Admit it.

You must be REALLY enjoying the current Obama gobermint’s high level competence and complete regards for Americans.

You must be REALLY enjoying the current Obama gobermint’s high level competence and complete regards for Americans.

Don’t you?

Yes, I do. People are not going to fully realize Obama’s genius until years from now. He came from out of nowhere, ran a flawless campaign, passed a boatload of huge legislation in his month in office, and his presence alone has sent the Republican party in spasms of hysteria. While he runs circles arund them, they can’t even agree who is leading them. And even though he is only a month in office, he’s already got re-election locked down. All he has to do now is sit back and watch the stimulus programs kick into gear. By the time the election rolls around, all he has to do is show footage of Caterpillar employees as well as cops and firemen who got to keep their jobs, and juxtapose that with footage of snivelling Republican leaders on Fox News whining about how the stimulus will be the end of America. That’s it.

Professional politicians have to be concerned with the PROCESS of governance. They have to work with other pros.

Unfortunately, they have gotten so wrapped up in their “work” that they no longer serve the their source of power and political legitimacy – the voters. It is our fault, really.

REAL leaders will emerge once the voters show that there is power to be had leading them and representing their interests in government. By that definition, Rush Limbaugh is the real leader of conservative voters and Steele is an administrator (at best.)

A REAL leader must lead from the front. He must be the man in the arena, the man who has something at stake and something to lose. Sounds more like Sarah Palin than Arlen Spector to me.

In the real world, great civilizations rise, flourish and fall. Check this very scary graph, and note that this could very well be the end of the American world predominance:http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/01/scariest-chart-ever.html
Of course, the steel spine that supports Obama and his administration will be quite happy to see that happen; although they will not be happy with the real world consequences to their cosy lives.

34. Marge
“Republicans are and always have been associated with the rich and big business. THEY will have to show the country, they believe in the average man before they can make progress in politics again.”

That’s liberal bilge. Democats associate the Republicans with the rich and big business because Republicans (or at least conservatives) believe in capitalism and private enterprise. That means that the rich are given tax breaks the same as anyone else because the rich are who funds business.

Without the rich to fund private enterprise, the government is forced to take over. That’s what’s happened in the present economic downturn. And with Obama’s taking from the rich and giving to the poor, it can only mean the coming end to capitalism and private enterprise.

The government will run everything. Just what we need. The entire country run like the US Post Office. No competition. No choice.

Can someone please explain to me why Governor Palin is always mentioned in the same sentence with Joe the Plumber? I feel like she’s being marginalized in this manner. She is an accomplished Governor, she deserves respect.
Nothing against Joe the Plumber, but I mean come on, he is just a guy that asked a question to a Presidential Candidate.

BTW, these elites have ruined the GOP. I’m leaving the party because I simply refuse to be in a party with them. I put up with their candidates for years, but now there is no room in the party for outsiders and Conservatives? BYE.

The writer and everyone posting here has missed the real problem. It’s not elitism that is the problem. Those “elites” are really just those who have come into power and know how they managed to do so. They’ve learned to compromise (their principles, too) and how to kow-tow to public opinion as dictated by the Press. Certainly, there is some elitism there, but it comes from them knowing how they got there and what works.

McCain is a perfect example of this. He’s a media-whore. He often spouts conservative principles, but caves to political expediency.

The problem is that these guys pay attention to the Press. They believe in its power, and they often buy into the narratives proffered by the Press.

These guys all become Conservative when a conservative leader steps forth and provides them a spine. They need political cover, because they fear the Press.

The other problem is their age. They cannot think outside the box. It’s not that they’re unwilling. It’s that they can’t. That’s why the comers in the party are all in their 40′s (Palin, Jindal, Cantor, et al).

Conservatives are the base of the Party, but they are not the whole Party, and we need to accept that. You can’t kick out all the others, nor can you beat them over the heads to get them to toe the Party line. That’s what the Dems do. They are merciless in that regard. People must be led to conservative principles, not forced.

It all comes down to articulate, strong leadership. Such a leader will bring other leaders to his banner. Then, others follow those leaders. That’s how you build a political army on the Right. That’s how you bring the moderates rightward. You can’t force it, nor treat them as the enemy. You have to lead.

Once you do this, the Press loses its power over the less convicted, as we start defining the narrative, rather than allowing the Press/Dems to do so.

Who are the leaders? I don’t see them. Jindal is extremely smart, accomplished, and competent, but he’s dweeb-tastic. Palin walks the walk, but can’t talk the talk. Her speech lacks density. Cantor is a possiblity, but he seems to lack the experience/gravitas. If he were to become a governor for awhile, then he could become soemthing special. So, it goes. We simply lack the leadership, and will lack it for some time.

What we need is some well-qualified business leaders to step forward and run for office, but that is not likely, unless the economy really continues to tank so much, that their hands are forced. What we don’t need to is to make enemies of those within our own ranks. They’ll come around if we can find the leaders.

I was disappointed when Palin did not attend CPAC (I am a Team Palin member). But Palin is much smarter than I am: she didn’t go because it would not have helped her plans.

CPAC was, it seems, dominated by the established Republican leadership, who saw the meeting as a nice source of young enthusiastic vote getters. They are not at all interested in shaking their leaking boat. Palin, Jindel and Cantor are YOUNG, and not afraid to shake that boat, because they can see it is leaking and ready to sink.

Earlier this year, Palin went to the Republican Governors’ meeting. I noticed that when she was at the microphone, answering press questions, the governors’ almost pushed her off the stage. It was done politely, but it was unmistakable. Palin is NOT popular with the established Republican party.

She is a VERY SMART POLITICIAN. And she is very intelligent. This chatter about her “lacking density” is so much silliness. Jindel is popular, especially with pundits, and he has shown he can raise money for Republican candidates; however, he had better slow down when talking on TV; he should take speech lessons (like Hillary took fashion advice). Both Jindel and Palin are popular in their states, because they are doing good jobs there.

#23 jw: As the great Frances Rice, one of the founders of the National Black Republican Association, said, the Democrats are the party of the 4 S’s: slavery, secession, segregation and socialism, but Republicans had better get their act together or they’ll be the “outs” for a long time to come.
The Republican party establishment ignores Sarah Palin at its peril. Palin has a way of connecting with people that other national-stage Republicans don’t. Every rally where she appeared during the campaign drew huge crowds. People are naturally drawn to her for many reasons, her appearance, her family, her grass roots appeal, the fact that she personally earned her political stripes (she didn’t get them from her Husband or family), and the fact that she isn’t part of the “good-ole” boy system. She is a plus for the Republicans and the so-called RNC leaders should take heed.

People desperate for leadership will create leaders for themselves if none step forward with the requisite desired qualities. What is wanted these days is a clear statement of conservative principle coupled with the courage to speak to these without apology. Sarah Palin did just this with her acceptance speech at the convention and Joe the Plumber with a single question effectively advanced more of the conservative philosophy than McCain managed in an entire campaign. It is no surprise to me that they were immediately taken for leaders.

The thing about the current situation is that any prominent person in the GOP could sieze the mantle of party leader if he or she would exhibit that combination of courage and conviction that so many hunger for. It would mean subjecting oneself to the scurrilous attacks of the leftist media, to derision and ridicule and to character assassination by false scandal and innuendo. And it will require an ability to articulate the conservative agenda without compromise or apology (something that has been achingly absent for years). But until someone does this the GOP will languish in minority status.

Palin may be the one. Maybe even Joe. Or maybe Jindal or Cantor. What is needed is someone with the chutzpah to make a grab at leadership, the eloquence to get the message out in an understandable manner, the consistency to hold to the message without compromise and the courage to face down the RINOs and then the leftist media. The democrats themselves are actually the easiest to face as their arguments are trite, lame and ultimately incoherent.

The problem: Republicans run another McCain out in 2012…we lose
The solution: A national primary open only to card-carrying Republicans

By the time my state (Washington) held its primary McCain had already clinched the nomination. My vote would have meant nothing….so I stayed home. Next time the Republican Party runs an idiot Rino like McCain, I’ll stay home in November too. You GET IT yet, Michael Steele?

64. AnninCA:
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I don’t deny she has terrific appeal to certain types of people. But her whole grass roots folksiness seems disingenuine. It’s as if she’s playing a role instead trying to be agenuine person. Joe meanwhile sure seems to play a lot of different roles but comes across as clueless.

#47: race is irrelevant to fools.
Or at least to white people living in some alternative reality. On this planet blacks think O.J. was innocent, framed by white LAPD.
DC government thinks using the word “niggardly” is a firing, racist, offense; demonstrating their ignorance as well as racism. They are just as quick to attack cartoonists as any Mohammedans. When Coleman Young took office as Detroit mayor in the 70s, his first act was to abolish the STRESS program, DPD’s street-crime operation. Criminals were one of his major constituencies. He tried to physically demolish Hamtramck, once a Polish enclave. In general, he did everything but put up billboards telling whites to get out. I lived there/then, so that’s my reference — I’m sure anyone living in other minority-ruled spots (or working for the Federal government) can give the same. Forget Zimbabwe….

“Conservative does not equal Republican. I no longer automatically support or vote for the Republican candidates. I look for Conservative cadidates. I vote for the most conservative one.”
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Agreed, Palin is a GENUINE CONSERVATIVE….unlike the cast of Republican elitists disparaging her. Despite the attacks, she is not one whit diminished in my opinion.

There is no better metaphor for the party of Abraham Lincoln than “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. The very name of the gathering was “Conservative Political Action Conference”. And yet there are some who are embarrassed by the true conservative element in the party?

WE NEED TO GET A GRIP ON REALITY. If we don’t get our act together, and soon, we will be the minority party for decades.

We need to be like a family at a family reunion. We don’t totally agree with our cousin twice removed, but he knows how to throw a great barbeque. We don’t necessarily like the way Aunt Mabel pinches our cheek every time she sees us, but she makes fantastic chocolate chip cookies. We may come from all walks of life, but when push comes to shove, a real family comes together in times of great need.

This is one of those times. We’ve got to quit participating in a circular firing squad, and watch each other’s backs. We’ve got to quit bickering among ourselves and direct our attention to the true philosophical enemy – those who would totally destroy America as we know it.

Marge is not wrong in posting as she did and calling her views “bilge,” does not change her views one iota. Nor does it change the painful facts. Over the last 10-12 years as the GOP had control, they showed total indifference to the little guy. They were so busy shaking down lobbyists for contributions they forgot why they were elected. That’s one reason Marge identifies the GOP with big business. That’s why lots of people do.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with big busines–unless that’s all you care about. And for 12 years, thats all the GOP cared about.

Maybe you both had better do some reading before you tell marge she doesn’t know what she’s talking about: the GOP just lost a presidential election to a nobody from Illinois. A State senator no less. But you guys just keep thinking that everyone else is wrong.

Did the GOP enact vouchers in their years in power? Why not? How about better deductions for health care? Rwal control of illegal immigration? Why not? Cost control in universities where costs are exploding? A realistic child care credit? An investigation of the Duke scandal?

No, the GOP was too busy buttering the bread on both sides. It demonstrated only incidental interest in normal wage earners over the years, since it was able to count on their strong patriotism for votes against the cut and run, “the war is lost” Democrats. Now, after the GOP ran up ludicrous deficits, was asleep at the FDIC and SEC as Wall Street concoctions ruined federally insured banks, the people had enough and the democrats are back in power. And few reasonable people blame Obama for the mess he didn’t cause (but is making worse).

Marge: you are quite right: until the GOP puts aside its reflexive opposition to estate and capital gains taxes and backs federal renter’s credits, more manufacturing tax credits, college cost control, health care tax decuctions for semi catastrophic illness, etc, its simply the lesser of 2 evils most years.

Marc Malone makes a whole lot of sense to me, as does Blackwell 72…I think republicans/conservatives have got to quit reacting to everything and begin acting on principles, create bills that are grassroots efforts blog the new bills, better ideas, I see so many good starts on healthcare, etc…get moving, keep up the tea parties, but make them fun, never lose the principles but have fun with our principles, get farmers to help out, do bbqs get the messages out, but do stuff, and quit blaming someone, move forward, conservatives are right… aren’t we?

Out here in the Red States, McCain was not considered a conservative. Neither was Mitt. The Only Conservative running for President this cycle was Senator Fred. The Rest were RINO’s. Bill Clinton without the intern.
Voter turn out for ’08 was over 60%. First time since ’68.
’68 was also an anti-war vote. It can be seen that the Citizens of America no longer think the Republic is worth fighting for. If that is true, then we won’t last much longer and the Citizens will deserve their fate.

why are Republican politicans failing so horrendously at countering them?

Finally we come full circle to the original topic.

Why a Sarah Palin or Joe The Plumber message was so effective. We are tired of the liberals’ pick and choose representation (intentionally misrepresentation, more like) of fake conservatives and/or conservativism.

The problem with congressional Republicans (most, not all) is they have surrendered their testicles in exchange for media approval. Also, too many politicians treat perpetual re-election as their most important function. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Read the Preamble to the Constitution- pretty good blueprint for guiding principles.

I think we should all just sell our houses, collect our $500,000 or so, take the money out of the market, and move to the hills. We can pass legislation to legalize pot before we go. We can build houses and grow pot. Then we can sell it for CASH!
Sell it to all. Hoard our money in the hills. Everynight we will sit back and light one up, We will watch as America goes to shit! No taxes. No worries. We will get good and smoked.

Iowa, NH and South Carolina will give the party to Palin. She speaks to us and for us. Romney is a Hack. He is on film dising Reagan. He was a big liberial when it suited him. It is foolish to trust him.

Palin just needs to relise she will be hated as much as loved. Don’t trust the media and never expect anyting but the worst from costal dems.

Pat said Sarah Palin just didn’t seem genuine.Yeah like all the colossal frauds in politics now who will say anything anytime to get votes. I wish she was real like Hillary saying she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary when he hadn’t climbed Mt Everest yet and no one knew who he was. Turn off the tv, Pat and meet some real people.
Marge , Most of the wealthiest Congressmen and Senators are Democrats. Your canard about the party of the rich doesn’t have basis in reality.

49 Steve P . . . You’re exactly right. the Republican/conservative hysteria is aimed at creating as much doubt and damage as quickly as possible, because they know Obama will fix the mess they created.

And their hysteria is a blast to watch. The Democrats pounced on the opportunity to put Limbaugh out front, knowing that his gas bag bellowings will rile up the base and disgust the rest of America. Limbaugh knows it, too, but his ego os so huge that he just can’t help himself. We’re watching the ultimate one-man death match play out right before our eyes. Beautiful.

The conservative pundits running the party know they’re arbitrary in their commitments, that they’re without consistency in their principles, but the media orgy of the last month has pushed them over the most dangerous cliff of all . . . they are starting to believe their own misdirections. And down they will go.

Hey Pat J; Steve P; one of my own, Obama opened his big mouth again today and the DJIA only dropped a half of a percentage point! Congratulations! That’s quite an accomplishment, considering it’s usually between a one and four point drop when this guy spews his nonsense. How’s socialism working out for you loons so far? I don’t know about you psychologically challenged freaks, but I can’t wait until your “big eared dummy” renege’s on that gigantic tax cut he gave us, can you? God, but I hate stinking hippies!

To those who want to kick out the religious fundamentalists, I have to wonder which side you’re on. The Republican Party is a big tent BYOC, Bring Your Own Conservatism, and leave the unconservative rest at home. The intolerant militants (“Kick out the base!” “Kick out people with blue eyes!”) seek to make it a small tent, but by doing so, they reccommend themselves as the people who need to be kicked out.

Everyone else is welcome. Atheists, Fundamentalists….its a Conservative Party, and you bring what you have.

Now, Marc Malone makes a large, good point. We bring people to our point of view, we don’t go to theirs. This is excellent and needs to be trumpeted from the hills.

But he makes two errors as well.

1)Palin ‘less density’, and we should have biz leaders instead. Nothing wrong with a biz leader, but they should be at least equal to Palin before we replace her, eh?

Gov. of major state=Fortune 500 CEO
Real Conservative=Unfortunately many CEO’s lack values conservatism without which they cannot win.

Plus many CEO’s are Pro-Business, not Pro-Free Enterprise. This latter lack is not entirely their fault. Bill Gates ignored the liberal philanthropy gig, and the lobbying in DC until his company nearly got broken by the Dept. of Justice. Now he gives away a lot of money, and he has a massive lobbying group in DC. And he has no problems with the DOJ. Coin-k-dink?

The problem with this is that this process is corrupting. Is such a CEO going to do the Free Enterprise thing or is he going to do more of what he’s been trained to do which is Corruption?

But lets say we can find a genuine Free Marketeer among our Business Elite.

Now he also has to have the ability to connect with the crowds like Palin does.

And only now is he equal to Palin. And yes, the Dems and the MSM will do a ‘politics of personal destruction’ attack on him just like they did with Palin.

The other, deeper problem with Malone’s theory is a need to broaden the perspective. The carrot is well and good, but sometimes the stick is needed to keep everyone honest.

GWB gave some decent speeches. He was not as bad as a lot of people said. In the run-up to the War he made his case, and anti-war people said “Oh, I’m listening, and if only he made his case, I’d agree.”

Garbage.

Lucy jerking the football out in front of Charlie Brown.

“Just try again, with a little more feeling, and you might convince me.” If Bush had spoken so that angels wept, it would have done little good without fear. Fear keeps the various sides honest.

If we had Malone’s supersmart ultra cool Biz Leader nominee, he would not be able to get everyone on board without some fear in the background, the steel inside the velvet glove.

It was pretty clear from logic that Sen. McCain was a terrible choice. Experience also proves that case. But you would have looked long and hard to find a RINO who would admit that before the election (unless they were David Brooks and decided McCain wasn’t Democratic enough.)

The Republican party is a socialist party of elitists who want to tax the lower middle class and transfer their meager earnings to the lower class to keep them from rioting, so that they may enjoy their luxury behind gated walls with private security. We will never regain freedom or restore the Constitution as long as the GOP is fighting us. I don’t care who they nominate. I won’t vote for them and I won’t give them any money. The GOP is the enabler of liberal fascism. Boycott the GOP! Steele just proved that all his conservative talk is jive BS. He’s a socialist.

One of the weirdest facets of the political discussion in the last couple of decades has been the Democrat, and mainstream, search for a leader to pull us out of whatever trouble we’re in. This leader will be “better” than the rest of us, because he’s smarter, wiser, and more compassionate than everyone else. Because he’s all of these things, we won’t mind if he raises our taxes to spend the money: we know he’ll spend it only on worthy things. We won’t mind if he changes the law to restrict our freedoms: he has our best interests at heart, and would never do anything to harm us. None of his initiatives are flawed, or need to be questioned: he’s so smart, and well-meaning, that everything he does is bound to help us in many ways, and anything bad that happens as a result is really because of his opposition, and their mean desires to keep us from prosperity.

Once you understand this, you understand the animosity aimed at Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin. Neither of them was smart in school (I presume with Joe, and have read such with regards to Palin) and neither comes off as particularly sophisticated. Believe it or not, I heard Denis Leary, of all people, saying he wants his President to be someone smarter than he. You wonder why he thinks his ancestors left Ireland: there were people smarter than them there, who could tell them how to live, when to plant potatoes, and where to bury those who couldn’t live on what they could grow or earn. Instead he’s stranded here in America, looking for a ruling class to tell him how to live his life. Truly strange.

So there you have it. What the Republican party needs, according to these critics, is a leader. Someone who went to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, one of those places. Certainly not a state university, and definitely not a community college. He should wear a suit well, speak clearly, and have good hair and a sincere (fake) smile. If anyone thinks this bears any resemblance to someone in the Republican party, well…of course Mitt Romney comes to mind immediately, doesn’t he? Denis Leary would be happy, because Romney’s smarter than he. Of course, the problem is Romney would lose, because nobody in the country is going to get excited about a middle-aged white Mormon when we have a brilliant black savior in the White House. Unless the party wakes up to this, we’re screwed, for a good long while. The last truly populous president we had was Reagan, and we all know what a failure he was. The Democrats are determined that we don’t repeat our failure with Palin or Jindal, or someone else who doesn’t come from the right family.

Really? Denis Leary wants someone “smarter than he is” to tell him how to live his life?”

What Mr. Leary wants is someone intelligent enough to defend this country w/o getting it involved in wars that are good for oil companies & defense contractors, & not for anyone else, not someone to tell him how to live.

Funny that that’s what all you freedom-loving, hard-working conservatives think of the minute that a competent gov’t. is mentioned. You’re all projecting your own fears about your authoritarian personalities. Think about how all of you are in love w/ Reagan before you start claiming the left is looking for a Hitler.

And please, all you elitist snobs stop looking down your noses at us “common folk.”

Interesting to hear of an actual, formalized divide between elites and conservatives. I’m new to these blogs, but getting connected through Twitter.

I am organizing a debate/discussion group for my Republican Women’s org and my initial theme is “Why can’t our leaders act like .. us?” I didn’t realize there is so much discussion going on about this. So far I have 2 grassroots speakers (local L.A. club leaders), 1 from the Calif. Rep. Party and looking for a 4th. Your conversations have clarified for me what kind of person I should be looking for.

No to Libertarian Party. No to Conservative Party. Lincoln is my man. We just have to take the GOP back or at least remake it.

The Republican Party is the party of equal opportunity and hope. Today equal opportunity has evolved to imply racial issues when it historically means the opportunity of everyone to move up the economic ladder, not because the government gives you something but because through hard work or a better idea and a bit of risk taking you can become the next billionaire without government interference. The democrats claim that succeeding or failing based upon your own merits is cruel. They claim that they should define fairness. They determine morality. The reality is that under the Democrats approach of heavy handed regulation and high taxes it is much more difficult to get ahead.

If you go back to each of Obama’s goals, we would agree with the goal but disagree with his method to achieve it. We all want health care to provide more value, but increased regulation and his governmental approach will provide less heath care at a higher cost. More doctors and nurses, more competition, and less government mandates will lower the cost. All you need to do is compare lasik eye surgery which is not covered by insurance to procedures that are covered. Lasik surgery’s cost has fallen, while covered services have increased in cost.

Our problem is one of communication. The republican party needs to look at Obama’s campaign tactics and use similar approaches. A section on e

From my outside point of view, the problem is that no conservative has really articulated conservative solutions to 21st century problems. Bush defaulted to socialist measures because he literally ran out of ideas as to how to confront an imploding economy. The same thing happened to Hoover, Bush just happened to have a guy like Bernake around that knows the perfect storm that created the great depression that told him the consequences. As opposed to Hoover who had to see 20 percent unemployment before he turned over a new leaf.

When there is no clear alternative, how can you expect people to turn to it?

So part of the problem is articulating a platform that speaks to real concerns.

Another thing conservatives have to do is look in the mirror. For all this talk about elites and grassroots, the base LOVED George Bush. I mean, without rabid base support, Bush wouldn’t have gotten reelected. If the base actually did have a platform that attempted to address 21st century issues though, then I think the base wouldn’t have been so infatuated with Bush. Because in all honesty, it was Easy for Bush to live up to conservative standards. Be pro free trade, pro tax cuts, pro conservative judges, pro conservative populist issues (pro life, anti gay marriage) and he met every single criteria that conservatives cared about. Throw in some generic boilerplate scraps for moderates (healthcare- medicare expansion, education- no child left behind) and he had all he needed. Even though none of these things addressed the problems we are facing. Reagan had already proved that the base could love you without you having to be a fiscal hawk.

But all in all, I agree with the gist of the message. Don’t be a rubberstamp for party elites. My only advice is to keep that in mind WHILE they are in power.